EP0741893B1

EP0741893B1 - Coin queuing and sorting arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP0741893B1
Application number: EP95906789A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Joseph J. Geib; Douglas U. Mennie
Original assignee: Cummins Allison Corp
Current assignee: Cummins Allison Corp
Priority date: 1994-01-07
Filing date: 1995-01-03
Publication date: 1999-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 2015-01-03
Also published as: DE69513636D1; DE69513636T2; WO1995019017A1; AU677758B2; EP0741893A4; CA2179499C; CA2179499A1; JPH09508725A; EP0741893A1; AU1524795A; ES2141328T3; MX9602612A; US5489237A; US5425669A

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to coin queuing devices for receiving coins of the same or mixed denominations and delivering those coins to a fixed feed station and also relates to a coin queuing and sorting arrangement employing a coin sorting device for receiving and sorting the coins discharged from the coin queuing device.

Such a coin queuing and sorting arrangement with the features of the preamble parts of

claims

1 and 5 is known from WO93/18488.

In the known arrangement the coin queuing device includes an upright circular cylindrical hopper mounted to the top of a ring and a first disc mounted within the ring which has a hard, generally flat upper surface of metal. From an inner surface of the hopper a flexible deflector blade extends with its outer end spaced from the edge of a plug mounted on the upper surface of the hard disc a distance that is less than twice the diameter of the smallest coin to be handled. According to this distance only a single row of coins will pass between the end of the deflector plate and the edge of the plug.

The coins then pass an exit channel and are supplied to a sorter plate with a series of openings for sorting the coins according to their denominations.

In WO92/21108 a coin sorter is disclosed including a rotatable disc with a pad and a sorting head. In the surface of the sorting head a number of channels, ramps and slots are formed for queuing and gauging coins of different denominations and for finally discharging coins of different denominations at different circumferential locations around the periphery of the sorting head.

In view of W093/18488 it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved coin queuing device or coin queuing and sorting arrangement for delivering a single file of single-layered coins to a fixed coin feed station with one edge of all the coins aligned with each other to increase the throughput rate of coins processed by the coin queuing device and to quickly and accurately deliver coins from the coin queuing device to the coin sorting device.

This object is solved by a coin queuing device of the coin queuing and sorting arrangement as outlined in

claims

1 and 5, respectively.

Further advantageous embodiments are disclosed by the features of the subclaims.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a coin queuing and sorting arrangement embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plane view of the arrangement in figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged section taken generally along the line 3-3 in figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged section taken generally along the line 4-4 in figure 2;

FIGS. 5a-5c are enlarged sections taken generally along the line 5-5 in FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 6a-6c are enlarged sections taken generally along the line 6-6 in FIG. 2.

Detailed Description Of The Preferred Embodiments

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings and referring first to FIG. 1, a queuing device 10 includes a hopper which receives coins of mixed denominations and feeds them through a central feed aperture in an annular queuing head or guide plate 12. As the coins pass through the feed aperture, they are deposited on the top surface of a rotatable disc 14. This disc 14 is mounted for rotation on a stub shaft (not shown) driven by an electric motor (not shown). The disc 14 comprises a resilient pad 18, preferably made of a resilient rubber or polymeric material, bonded to the top surface of a solid metal plate 20.

As the disc 14 is rotated (in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2), the coins deposited on the top surface thereof tend to slide outwardly over the surface of the pad 18 due to centrifugal force. As the coins move outwardly, those coins which are lying flat on the pad 18 enter the gap between the pad surface and the queuing head 12 because the underside of the inner periphery of this head 12 is spaced above the pad 18 by a distance which is approximately the same as the thickness of the thickest coin.

As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 2, the outwardly moving coins initially enter an annular recess 24 formed in the underside of the queuing head 12 and extending around a major portion of the inner periphery of the queuing head 12. To permit radial movement of coins entering the recess 24, the recess 24 has an upper surface spaced from the top surface of the pad 18 by a distance which is greater than the thickness of the thickest coin. An upstream outer wall 26 of the recess 24 extends downwardly to the lowermost surface 28 of the queuing head 12, which is preferably spaced from the top surface of the pad 18 by a distance (e.g., 0,254 mm or 0.010 inch) which is significantly less (e.g., 0,254 mm or 0.010 inch) than the thickness of the thinnest coin. Consequently, the initial radial movement of the coins is terminated when they engage the upstream outer wall 26 of the recess 24, though the coins continue to move circumferentially along the wall 26 by the rotational movement of the pad 18.

A ramp 27 is formed at the downstream end of the outer wall 26. Coins which are engaged to the wall 26 prior to reaching the ramp 27 are moved by the rotating pad 18 into a channel 29. For example, the coin T'a' at approximately the 12 o'clock position in FIG. 2 will be moved by the rotating pad 18 into the channel 29. However, those coins which are still positioned radially inward from the outer wall 26 prior to reaching the ramp 27 engage a recirculation wall 31, which prevents the coins from entering the channel 29. Instead, the coins are moved along the recirculation wall 31 until they reach a ramp 32 formed at the upstream end of a land 30.

The only portion of the central opening of the queuing head 12 which does not open directly into the recess 24 is that sector of the periphery which is occupied by the land 30. The land 30 has a lower surface which is co-planar with or at a slightly higher elevation than the lowermost surface 28 of the queuing head 12. Coins initially deposited on the top surface of the pad 18 via its central feed aperture do not enter the peripheral sector of the queuing head 12 located beneath the land 30 because the spacing between the land 30 and the pad 18 is slightly less than the thickness of the thinnest coin.

When a coin has only partially entered the recess 24 (i.e., does not engage the ramp 27) and moves along the recirculation wall 31, the coin is recirculated. More specifically, an outer portion of the coin engages the ramp 32 on the leading edge of the land 30. For example, a 25 cent coin at approximately the 9 o'clock position in FIG. 2 is illustrated as having engaged the ramp 32. The ramp 32 presses the outer portion of the coin downwardly into the resilient pad 18 and causes the coin to move downstream in a concentric path beneath the inner edge of the land 30 (i.e., inner periphery of the queuing head 12) with the outer portion of the coin extending beneath the land 30. After reaching the downstream end of the land 30, the coin reenters the recess 24 so that the coin can be moved by the rotating pad 18 through the recess 24 and into the channel 29.

Coins which engage the ramp 27 enter the channel 29, defined by the inner wall 31 and an outer wall 33. The outer wall 33 has a constant radius with respect to the center of the disc 14. Since the distance between the upper surface of the channel 29 and the top surface of the rotating pad 18 is only slightly less than the thickness of the thinnest coin, the coins move downstream in a concentric path through the channel 29. While moving downstream, the coins maintain contact with the outer wall 33. At the downstream end of the channel 29, the coins move into a spiral channel 34 via a ramp 41. The distance between the upper surface of the spiral channel 34 and the top surface of the pad 18 is slightly greater than the thickness of the thickest coin, thereby causing the coins to maintain contact with an outer spiral wall 37 of the channel 34 while moving downstream through the channel 34. The spiral channel 34 guides the coins to an exit channel 36. At the downstream end of the outer spiral wall 37, i.e., at the point where the spiral wall 37 reaches its maximum radius, the coins engage a ramp 39 which presses the coins downwardly into the resilient surface of the rotating pad 18. The outer edges of coins which are against the outer wall 37 have a common radial position and are ready for passage into the exit channel 36. Coins whose radially outer edges are not engaged by the ramp 39 engage a wall 38 of a recycling channel 40 which guides such coins back into the entry recess 24 for recirculation.

The spiral channel 34 strips apart most stacked or shingled coins entering the channel 34 from the channel 29 (FIGS. 5a-5c). While a pair of stacked or shingled coins are moving through the channel 29, the combined thickness of the stacked or shingled coins is usually great enough to cause the lower coin in that pair to be pressed into the resilient pad 18. As a result, that pair of coins will be rotated concentrically with the disc through the channel 29 and into the channel 34. Because the inner wall 35 of the channel 34 spirals outwardly, the upper coin will eventually engage the upper vertical portion of the inner wall 35, and the lower coin will pass beneath the wall 35 and beneath the land 30. This lower coin will then be rotated concentrically with the disc beneath the land 30 and recirculated back to the entry recess 24 of the queuing head 12. If, however, the combined thickness of the stacked or shingled coins is not great enough to cause the lower coin in the pair to be pressed into the pad 18 (e.g., two very thin foreign coins), the coins are stripped apart in the exit channel 36 as described below.

The exit channel 36 causes all coins which enter the channel 36, regardless of different thicknesses and/or diameters, to exit the channel 36 with a common edge (the inner edges of all coins) aligned at the same radial position so that the opposite (outer) edges of the coins can be used for sorting in the circular sorting device 22. The upper surface of the channel 36 is recessed slightly from the lowermost surface 28 of the queuing head 12 so that the inner wall 42 of the channel 36 forms a coinguiding wall. This upper surface, however, is close enough to the pad surface to press coins of all denominations into the resilient pad 18.

As coins are advanced through the exit channel 36, they follow a path that is concentric with the center of rotation of the disc 14 because the coins of all denominations are continuously pressed firmly into the resilient disc surface. Because the coins are securely captured by this pressing engagement, there is no need for an outer wall to contain coins within the exit channel 36. The inner edges of coins of all denominations eventually engage the inner wall 42, which then guides the coins outwardly to the periphery of the disc. As can be seen in FIG. 2, a downstream section of the inner wall 42 of the exit channel 36 forms the final gaging wall for the inner edges of the coins as the coins exit the queuing head 12. As the inner wall 42 extends toward the periphery of the sorting head 12, the inner wall 42 gradually curves in the direction of rotation of the disc 14 (curving away from the radial direction), as opposed to curving against the direction of rotation of the disc 14 and toward the radial direction. In other words, the angle between (1) an imaginary tangent to the inner wall 42 at its upstream end and (2) an imaginary line drawn between the upstream end and the downstream end of the inner wall 42 is greater than zero, where positive angles are defined to be angles in the direction of rotation of the disc 14.

The exit channel 36 strips apart stacked or shingled coins which are not stripped apart by the spiral channel 34 (FIGS. 6a-6c). The combined thickness of any pair of stacked or shingled coins is great enough to cause the lower coin in that pair to be pressed into the resilient pad 18. Consequently, that pair of coins will be rotated concentrically with the disc. Because the inner wall 42 of the exit channel 36 spirals outwardly, the upper coin will eventually engage the upper vertical portion of the inner wall 42, and the lower coin will pass beneath the wall 42. This lower coin will be passed into a recirculating channel 44, which functions like the entry recess 24 to guide the coin downstream into the channel 29.

In the preferred embodiment, the queuing device 10 is used to feed the circular sorting device 22. Thus, in FIG. 2 the coins are sorted by passing the coins over a series of apertures formed around the periphery of a stationary sorting disc 50. The apertures 52a - 52h are of progressively increasing radial width so that the small coins are removed before the larger coins. The outboard edges of all the apertures 52a - 52h are spaced slightly away from a cylindrical wall 54 extending around the outer periphery of the disc 50 for guiding the outer edges of the coins as the coins are advanced over successive apertures. The disc surface between the wall 54 and the outer edges of the apertures 52a - 52h provides a continuous support for the outer portions of the coins. The inner portions of the coins are also supported by the disc 50 until each coin reaches its aperture, at which point the inner edge of the coin tilts downwardly and the coin drops through its aperture. Before reaching the aperture 52a, the coins are radially moved slightly inward by the wall 54 to insure accurate positioning of the coins after they are transferred from the queuing device 10 to the circular sorting device 22.

To advance the coins along the series of apertures 52a - 52h, the upper surfaces of the coins are engaged by a resilient rubber pad 56 attached to the lower surface of a rotating disc 58 (FIGS. 3 and 4). As viewed in FIG. 2, the disc 58 is rotated clockwise. Alternatively, the pad 56 may be substituted with a resilient rubber ring attached to the outer periphery of the lower surface of the rotating disc 58. The lower surface of the rubber pad 56 is spaced sufficiently close to the upper surface of the disc 50 that the rubber pad 56 presses coins of all denominations, regardless of coin thickness, firmly down against the surface of the disc 50 while advancing the coins concentrically around the peripheral margin of the disc 50. Consequently, when a coin is positioned over the particular aperture 52 through which that coin is to be discharged, the resilient rubber pad 56 presses the coin down through the aperture (FIG. 4).

As can be seen in FIG. 2, an arc-shaped section of the stationary disc 50 is cut away at a location adjacent the queuing device 10 to permit a smooth transition between the exit channel 36 and sorting device 22. Because of this cut-away section, coins which are advanced along the exit channel 36 formed by the queuing head 12 are actually engaged by the rubber pad 56 before the coins completely leave the disc 14. As each coin approaches the periphery of the disc 14, the outer portion of the coin begins to project beyond the disc periphery. This projection starts earlier for large-diameter coins than for small-diameter coins. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the portion of a coin that projects beyond the disc 14 eventually overlaps the support surface formed by the stationary sorting disc 50. When a coin overlaps the disc 50, the coin also intercepts the path of the rubber pad 56. The outer portion of the coin is engaged by the rubber pad 56 (FIG. 3).

Each coin is positioned partly within the queuing device 10 and partly within the sorting device 22 for a brief interval before the coin is actually transferred from the queuing device 10 to the sorting device 22. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the coinguiding inner wall 42 of the exit channel 36 in the queuing head 12 begins to follow an extension of the inner surface 54a of the wall 54 at the exit end of the queuing head 12, so that the inboard edges of the coins on the disc 14 (which become the outboard edges of the coins when they are transferred to the disc 50) are smoothly guided by the inner wall 42 of the exit channel 36 and then the inner surface 54a of the wall 54 as the coins are transferred from the disc 14 to the disc 50.

As previously stated, the exit channel 36 has such a depth that the coins of all denominations are pressed firmly down into the resilient pad 18. The coins remain so pressed until they leave the queuing device 10. This firm pressing of the coins into the pad 18 ensures that the coins remain captured during the transfer process, i.e., ensuring that the coins do not fly off the disc 14 by centrifugal force before they are transferred completely to the stationary disc 50 of the sorting device 22.

To facilitate the transfer of coins from the disc 14 to the disc 50, the outer edge portion of the top surface of the disc 50 is tapered at 60 (see FIG. 3). Thus, even though the coins are pressed into the pad 18, the coins do not catch on the edge of the disc 50 during the coin transfer.

Claims

A coin queuing device (10) for receiving coins and delivering the coins to a fixed feed station, said queuing device at least comprising a rotatable disc (14, 18) and an exit channel (36) for receiving the queued coins, said coins being delivered to said fixed feed station in a single file, in a single layer, characterized in that the radially inner edge of each coin is positioned at a common reference location wherein said rotatable disc (14, 18) has a resilient top surface and said queuing device further comprises a stationary queuing head (12) having a lower surface positioned parallel to the top surface of said disc and spaced slightly therefrom, the lower surface of said queuing head forming a queuing region (29, 34) for aligning the radially outer edges of coins of all denominations at a common radius, and forming said exit channel (36) which includes a radially inner wall (42) spiraling outwardly relative to the center of rotation of said disc (14, 18) to engage the radially inner edges of the queued coins, said inner wall (42) extending to the outer periphery of said disc for discharging from said disc the queued coins which are advanced along said inner wall, said inner wall gradually curving in the direction of rotation of said disc as said inner wall (42) extends towards the outer periphery of said disc, the upper surface of at least an exit end of said exit channel (36) being positioned sufficiently close to said resilient top surface of said disc to press the queued coins down into said resilient top surface as the coins are being discharged from the disc.
The queuing device of claim 1, wherein said queuing head (21) further forms a recirculation channel (44) extending from said inner wall (42) of said exit channel (36) to said queuing region (29, 34) such that the lower coin in a pair of overlapping coins passes beneath said inner wall and into said recirculation channel, said recirculation channel guiding the lower coin back into said queuing region.
The queuing device of claim 1, wherein said stationary queuing head (12) is circular and extends about the entire periphery of said disc (14).
The queuing device of claim 2, wherein the lower portion of said inner wall (42) is bevelled to facilitate passage of the lower coin in said pair of overlapping coins beneath said inner wall.
A coin queuing and sorting arrangement, comprising:
a coin queuing device (10) including at least a rotatable disc (14, 18) for receiving a plurality of coins thereon, and a coin sorting device (22), disposed adjacent to said queuing device (10), for receiving and sorting coins discharged from said rotatable disc (14, 18), characterized in that said coin queuing device (10) comprises said rotatable disc (14, 18) with a resilient top surface and a stationary queuing head (12) having a lower surface positioned generally parallel to and opposing said resilient top surface of said rotatable disc (14, 18) and spaced slightly therefrom, said lower surface of said queuing head having formed therein at least one referencing channel (34) for aligning the radially outer edges of the coins on said top surface of said rotatable disc at a common radius as the coins are moved by said rotatable disc through said referencing channel, said lower surface of said queuing head further having formed therein an exit channel (36) for receiving the queued coins, said exit channel including a radially inner wall (42) extending to a periphery of said rotatable disc for discharging from said rotatable disc the queued coins which are advanced through said exit channel, the queued coins bearing against said radially inner wall as the queued coins exit said exit channel.
The arrangement of claim 5, wherein said coin sorting device (22) includes a coin-conveying member (50) having a stationary support surface for receiving and supporting the discharged coins and a guiding wall (54) for guiding the received coins along a desired path, said support surface forming a plurality of exit locations (52 a - h)for receiving coins of different denominations, and a movable coin-driving member (58) spaced above said support surface and having a resilient lower portion (56) for engaging the upper surfaces of coins of a all denominations and driving the engaged coins along said guiding wall to said exit locations.
The arrangement of claim 6, wherein said stationary support surface is a stationary sorting disc (50) and said guiding wall (54) extends substantially around the periphery of said sorting disc, and wherein said plurality of exit locations (52a - h) are apertures formed in said sorting disc adjacent the periphery thereof.
The arrangement of claim 7, wherein said apertures (52a - h) are arranged in order of progressively increasing radial width such that smaller coins exit the sorting disc before larger coins.
The arrangement of claims 6, wherein said coin-driving member (58) is a second rotatable disc having the resilient lower portion (56) connected to the lower surface thereof.
The arrangement of clam 6, wherein said stationary support surface is a stationary sorting disc, and wherein said coin-driving member includes a second rotatable disc having a lower surface positioned parallel to the top surface of said sorting disc.
The arrangement of claim 10, wherein an outer edge portion (60) of the top surface of said sorting disc (50) is tapered at a location adjacent said queuing device (10) to facilitate receiving of coins discharged from said first rotatable disc (14).
The arrangement of claim 10, wherein an arc-shaped section (60) of said stationary sorting disc (50) is cut away at a location adjacent said first rotatable disc (14).
The arrangement of claim 5, wherein said coin sorter (22) includes a rotatable disc (56, 58) having a resilient lower surface;
and a stationary sorting head (50) having an upper surface generally parallel to and spaced slightly from said resilient lower surface of said rotatable disc, said upper surface of said sorting head forming a plurality of apertures for sorting and discharging coins of different denominations, said apertures being adjacent a periphery of said sorting head.